Shakedown at the Ridge

Some amazing cars at the event and some talented drivers. Was really fun dicing with GT-R’s, GT3’s, 458’s, Formula Cars, etc. The primary goal for this event was to test out all the new changes done in the off season and test some setup changes.

Car ran like a top all day with 6 twenty minute sessions. I was using two sets of old Hoosiers from last year for testing. One set was mounted on the Forgestar 17 X 10’s and the fitment was excellent. No rubbing, no spacers, front and rear specs are the same so I’m able to rotate tires for best wear.

Spherical bearing suspension joints were quiet and direct. Initially, it was a bit unnerving how much I could feel and hear the tires digging and scrubbing into the track but quickly got used to the immense feedback from the solid metal connection.

The biggest difference came from the HPD spec OS Giken differential and the stage 2 PuddyMod assembly. Still getting used to the changes and working on optimizing the suspension setup to take advantage of the LSD. I was concerned that the Salisbury style diff would be detrimental to turn-in compared to the factory Torsen but turn-in was very similar. The biggest difference was powering out of corners. The OS Giken equipped car seems to result in more slip angle but doesn’t get super loose. I did have a few “moments” with sudden oversteer going over the crest at Turn 3 and a very high speed wiggle into Turn 10 but each was quickly recovered without drama.

The goal was not about laptimes, however, laptimes help validate changes made. My previous best laptime at the Ridge was a 1:46.858 from 2014. In early 2015, Turn 13 was changed and was made slower so laptime comparisons are no longer completely valid. It took me several sessions to dial in the new parts, trust the new setup, and remember how hard I could push in some key areas on the track. My best laps were in the 1:48’s. I only got a few laps in all day without traffic. Also, I left my GPS antenna in the trunk so my displayed laptimes aren’t super accurate and my logged data was pretty choppy.

Video highlights showing some of the awesome cars on track.

Some random pictures I shot between scrambling to get ready for each session